Movies: Past, present and future

With Gabriel Allon film, Paul Haggis eyes an Israeli spy

June 23, 2011 | 9:07pm

EXCLUSIVE: Paul Haggis moved in an action-thriller direction with the Russell Crowe prison-break movie "The Next Three Days" last fall. He may keep the chases coming.

The "Crash" filmmaker is in talks to write the spy film Universal is planning based on Daniel Silva's trademark Gabriel Allon character, said two sources briefed on the project who were not authorized talk about it publicly.

It's possible Haggis would also direct it, but one of the sources said that the project is in early development and that any decision on a director would be much further off. A Universal spokeswoman declined to comment.

Allon is a fortysomething Mossad agent who has appeared in ten of the bestselling author's books. Having avenged the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics earlier in his career, Allon has taken a quieter job restoring art. But he is often called out of retirement for covert missions, many of them involving terrorists with ties to radical Islamic groups.

The first movie (in what the studio hopes will turn into a franchise) could draw from Silva's inaugural Allon book, "The Kill Artist," or blend the story lines from several books. (Silva's most recent Allon novel was last year's "The Rembrandt Affair"; a new title, "Portrait of a Spy" is due out next month.)

Universal acquired the Allon series this spring for former NBC chief Jeff Zucker to produce. The Allon character is considered a meaty one for an actor in his late 30's or 40's. The studio is doubling down on the spy genre, also rebooting the Bourne franchise with Jeremy Renner.